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GOD'S MERCY WOULDN'T LET GO
Jose made one bad decision after another, but God used the Church to show him a new way to live.
By Lou Haviland
Jose’s mother always came to her son’s court hearings following his arrest for a serious crime. Her weeping could be heard at each of her visits to the courtroom. She wept even more at his last sentencing, so much so that the victim’s family gathered around her to console her.
“OK, awesome,” Jose recalled saying to himself in that moment. “Keep doing that. Maybe it’ll help me get less time.”
The victim’s family—who Jose later learned were Christians—asked the court for leniency for him during sentencing. Even though Jose’s heart was still selfish and proud, God was at work, pouring out His undeserved love.
UNMERITED FAVOR
By the age of 13, Jose was already smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol. By high school, he had been expelled from the school district, causing his family to move to another town for his schooling. Unfortunately, the move didn’t change his behavior.
“It was more of the same,” he recalled. “I got kicked out of another school and got into heavier drugs at that point.”
By age 17, Jose had moved on to smoking meth—and to what he calls “a pretty long” arrest record. Although police arrested Jose for increasingly serious crimes, he admits the justice system gave him multiple opportunities to change his ways.
“I kept getting chance after chance after chance. A slap on the wrist here, a couple of weeks here,” he said.
He eventually served a 10-month sentence, only to land back in jail just three months later for a more serious crime. But this time, he faced life in prison.
Incredibly, his victim’s family spoke up on Jose’s behalf, asking the court not to hand down a life sentence.
“Ultimately, I got 17 years,” he said. “I was 23 when I got arrested but much younger in my mentality.”
It was during this prison stay that Jose finally began to see that all the chances he had received had led to a moment of decision.
TRANSFORMED FROM WITHIN
For his first few years in prison, Jose thought of nothing but getting through his sentence.
“I was going through the motions, still getting involved with stupid stuff, a lot of the vices that were available there,” he said.
At one point a prisoner named Robert, whom Jose describes as “an ex-Crip from Venice Beach,” began sharing with him the Good News of Jesus.
“He actually would take the time to evangelize me,” Jose recalled. “It started with him inviting me to church. He was pretty persistent, and I was like, ‘Yes, maybe.’”
Jose put off Robert’s invitations to church until one day, he finally decided to attend. And he returned again and again. Jose had a lot of questions about what he heard there. Robert always listened and gave answers. Eventually, Jose realized he needed to leave behind the life he had been living.
“I’m done,” he finally prayed. “I’m done with this lifestyle. God, please forgive me. I want to just follow You.”
“God, please forgive me. I want to just follow You.”
—Jose
GROWING IN GOD'S WORD
As a new Christian, Jose continued attending church and encouraged those around him to do the same. In this early phase of his walk with Christ, he was zealous “but with very little knowledge.”
Eager to learn more from God’s Word, Jose took part in The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI), a four-year intensive biblical studies program facilitated by Prison Fellowship® in partnership with World Impact.
This program prepares leaders to disciple new Christians in prison and eventually to continue their ministry upon release. For Jose, it was the community and gatherings at TUMI that he enjoyed the most.
“The facilitator would have the group discussions,” he explained. “Hearing these guys go back and forth discussing things—that helped me grow in just seeing different ways of biblical application and methods of interpretation.”
Because he was transferred to another prison, Jose remained in TUMI for more than a year. He is grateful for the access it gave him to understanding biblical concepts.
For Jose, it was the community and gatherings at TUMI that he enjoyed the most.
ANGEL TREE BLESSINGS
Jose kept in touch with his two children thanks to his mother who cared for them while he was incarcerated. At one point, he heard about Prison Fellowship Angel Tree®, a program that serves the families of incarcerated moms and dads through local churches. At Christmas, Angel Tree volunteers deliver gifts to children on behalf of their incarcerated parents. Jose signed up his children but was skeptical about it.
“I was like, ‘Man, who are these people? Why do they care about my kids?’” he recalled.
After that first Christmas and the several that followed, Jose’s view of Angel Tree changed.
“It was a real blessing because there was a joy that my kids felt from just having those presents,” he said. “That time of year is always a stressful time for us when we’re locked up. Having that program alleviates some of the tension.”
Jose is grateful particularly to the churches that were involved in delivering the Christmas gifts and for the kindness shown to his mother.
“They were a good witness,” he said. “They were very loving to her. They asked her if she needed anything else even after Christmas, that they would help her. It seems like it’s a small thing, but it has a huge impact.”
A CHURCH OF SECOND CHANCES
After serving 13 1/2 years of his 17-year sentence, Jose was released from prison in 2020, just as the COVID pandemic was beginning.
He was eager to attend a church after his release. He had been corresponding with a pastor while incarcerated who would send Jose textbooks from his seminary. The pastor recommended two churches for Jose to visit.
“I called them both when I got out,” he recalled. “One of them responded, and I’ve been going there ever since.”
The pastor of Jose’s new church met with him twice a week, providing Jose with much-needed encouragement and accountability. And despite a drop in church fellowship because of the pandemic, Jose recalled kindnesses extended to him by his new church family.
“They were very welcoming,” he said. “There were people that I became very close with. They would invite me over to their houses, and we would have dinner. I'd be there with their families and stuff like that.”
When Jose looks back at his life, he is nothing less than astonished at the mercy of God and His hand in his life.
REENTRY UPS AND DOWNS
Jose experienced many of the peaks and valleys people routinely face when reentering their communities after prison.
Because his mother owned her home, he was able to stay with her and his children following his release. At first, he struggled to reinstate his driver’s license because of paperwork issues but was blessed to be able to receive it eventually.
Jose met his wife after his release, and they have been married for two and a half years. He found employment as a welder after completing classes at a local community college.
He even found a way to begin giving back to his community by volunteering at a local nonprofit that provides support to women considering abortions. Jose’s manager was so pleased with his work and his commitment that in 2022, he was offered a full-time, paid role with the organization. Jose happily accepted the position.
But then the nonprofit’s board learned of his incarceration. Jose had shared openly about his past with his immediate manager and those who had hired him, but they failed to report it to the board. The board of directors felt that Jose’s background was a liability and terminated his employment.
“It's definitely been a trial. [My manager] kept asking me for forgiveness,” he said.
Jose made clear to his former colleagues that he had forgiven them—but that what had happened to him in the end was still simply wrong. Unfortunately, situations like these are all too common for formerly incarcerated men and women.
'SOMETHING ONLY GOD CAN DO'
Jose plans on returning to his work as a welder. While he is currently serving at his church as a deacon, he would like to pastor his own church one day.
“My pastor has been training me and preparing me,” he said. He hopes to be a pastor within the next few years.
When Jose looks back at his life, he is nothing less than astonished at the mercy of God and His hand in his life.
“I did 13 1/2 years, I had been to prison before that, I was a drug addict, all kinds of stuff,” Jose said. “Now when I talk to new people at church, eventually I let them know about my past, and they’re surprised. That’s something only God can do. It’s really humbling and a glory to God, of how He transforms people.”
“It’s really humbling and a glory to God, of how He transforms people.”
—Jose
